I took this picture of myself with my iPod while running today...I guess I needed to find something to help pass the time
Michelle and I are finally enjoying summer break. DCPS goes really late into the year before summer break begins, and to make matters worse we had to make up a snow day this summer as well. Nevertheless, we are finally reaping one of the benefits of being teachers: paid summers off! Michelle, being totally awesome like she always is, is working part time as a nanny for a really cool family she met. They negotiated a really awesome schedule and Michelle is still going to have a nice summer, but it is also great that she is earning some money for us as well. I accepted an offer to be a substitute summer school teacher. I thought this was a perfect summer job because I can choose whether or not I will go into work. The reason I wanted this flexibility is because my main focus for this summer, which I call my real summer job, is to get as prepared as possible for my Ironman distance Triathlon in September. This means doing a whole lot of swimming, running, and biking!
I usually train for two sports in one workout. For example, yesterday I rode my bike 12 miles to an aquatic center, swam 3,000 meters, and then rode the 12 miles back home. Today, I rode my bike about 15 miles up Rock Creek Park, locked my bike to park bench and ran 5 miles, than rode my bike home about 15 miles. Based off of the results of my Half Ironman Triathlon, I have decided that I need to focus on running as much as I can this summer and make it a strength instead of a weakness. I am going to have to focus a lot on running over the next few months to meet my goal of running the entire 26.2 miles (a marathon) at the end of the Ironman in September without having to walk or stop and rest; and I can't forget that I will have to swim 2.4 miles and bike 112 miles before I even get that chance. So far, I have been extremely pleased with how much I have been able to run. I have gone on a couple 5 mile runs over the past few days and so far so good! Also, I was able to run the half marathon in my Half Ironman without stopping, so I am confident that my leg injury I got nearly two years ago that prevented me from running is nearly gone. The biggest key to overcoming the injury (IT Band Syndrome) has been doing lots and lots of stretching after I bike and run.
The following is a video I took of myself while running on a trail today in Rock Creek Park. I am lucky to have such a great place to do all my training and that D.C. is such a biker friendly area.
2 comments:
Great job! That picture you took of yourself reminded me of Micheal Scott's "Survivorman" video. :)
Jenny, it's funny you mention that because incidentally I did have to tear the pant legs off of my dress pants (which of course I was wearing on my run) and use them to make a bandana to shield my head from the sun. Don't worry though, when it things cooled down I duct taped the pants legs back on to my shorts. I credit Michael's survival skills with my getting out of that trail.
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